Evidence map›Paper›PMID 30899566›Full record

SynthesisBMJ global health2019

The costs of diabetes treatment in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review.

Corrina Moucheraud, Cosima Lenz, Michaella Latkovic, Veronika J Wirtz

Abstract readSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in BMJ global health, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 95 papers, 16 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
95citing papers in PubMed, 16 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

95 citing papers in PubMed, 16 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

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  3. Thiazolidinediones for people with chronic kidney disease and diabetes.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2025
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35 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Corrina MoucheraudHealth Policy and Management, University of California Fielding School of Public Health, Los Angeles, California, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-7862-7928
Cosima LenzHealth Policy and Management, University of California Fielding School of Public Health, Los Angeles, California, USA.
Michaella LatkovicDepartment of Global Health, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Veronika J WirtzDepartment of Global Health, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionThe rising burden of diabetes in low- and middle-income countries may cause financial strain on individuals and health systems. This paper presents a systematic review of direct medical costs for diabetes (types 1 and 2) in low- and middle-income countries.

methodsFollowing Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines, databases (PubMed, International Bibliography of Social Science, EconLit) were searched for publications reporting direct medical costs of type 1 and 2 diabetes. Data were extracted from all peer-reviewed papers meeting inclusion criteria, and were standardised into per-patient-visit, per-patient-year and/or per-complication-case costs (2016 US$).

resultsThe search yielded 584 abstracts, and 52 publications were included in the analysis. Most articles were from Asia and Latin America, and most focused on type 2 diabetes. Per-visit outpatient costs ranged from under $5 to over $40 (median: $7); annual inpatient costs ranged from approximately $10 to over $1000 (median: $290); annual laboratory costs ranged from under $5 to over $100 (median: $25); and annual medication costs ranged from $15 to over $500 (median: $177), with particularly wide variation found for insulin. Care for complications was generally high-cost, but varied widely across countries and complication types.

conclusionThis review identified substantial variation in diabetes treatment costs; some heterogeneity could be mitigated through improved methods for collecting, analysing and reporting data. Diabetes is a costly disease to manage in low- and middle-income countriesand should be a priority for the global health community seeking to achieve Universal Health Coverage.

Indexed as

diabeteshealth economics

Identifiers

PMID30899566
PMCPMC6407562

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.